Together
by lilyofthevalley2
Summary: Ever since he went to the Shinigami Academy, Gin's visits have been few and far between. But now he's back, and he's brought some good news. Gin/Ran, set during the Turn Back the Pendulum arc. Oneshot.


Rangiku shivered a little and burrowed deeper into the blankets, pulling them up over her head. The sun was shining through the cracks in the little hut where they...she...lived, so the storm had passed last night. She tried to bundle herself up and go back to sleep, but now that she was awake, she was freezing, blankets or not.

"I hate winter," she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she threw the blankets off with a little squeal as the ice cold air hit her. Her teeth chattering, she hurried over to the iron stove they'd scavenged, stirred up the embers, and put some more wood in it. She stood as close as she could to the warmth until the fire started to get large enough to heat the hut, shivering the whole time. When it was warm enough, she shrugged out of her robes, dunked a (pretty clean) washcloth in a bucket and started to wash herself near the stove.

"Hyah, lookin' pretty good there, Ran!" she heard someone say at the same time that she felt a blast of cold air coming from the door.

"Eek! Close the door, Gin!" she squealed, grabbing the towel and wrapping up in it. "It's _cold_ out!"

Gin shut the door behind him and stuffed the rags back in the cracks. "How ya been, Ran?" he asked.

"Well, now I'm cold," she sulked. "So if you want a hug, you're going to have to come over near the stove."

He grinned and crossed the room to hug her. "I got somethin' to show ya," he said with a grin.

"Oh?" she said, now warm enough to shed the towel and continue getting cleaned up. "Is it a present?"

"Sorta," he said, rummaging around in his bag, pulling out some black folded clothes, and tossing them to her.

"But black is so boring..." she said, thinking at first that it was a new kimono. But then she stopped and realized what they were, and her mouth dropped open. "Already?"

Gin nodded smugly and she bounded across the room and pulled him into a huge hug. "Congratulations, Gin, that's so amazing!" she squealed.

"Told ya I'd finish quick," he said. "Yer lookin' at the newest officer of Squad Five, Third Seat under Aizen-taichou."

"_Third Seat?_ No way!" she said, looking at his grin to see if he had that slight twitch of the lips that indicated he was teasing. They didn't.

"Yep. So yer gonna have to try pretty hard to catch up, Rangiku-chan." He extracted himself from her hug and sat down cross-legged on the bed as she continued her 'bath.'

"Eh, but then I'd have to work so hard! That's too much trouble," she complained. "Anyway, I'll have to meet this captain of yours who can put up with your fox-face every day."

Gin looked a little pensive (which meant his smile looked a little less wide than normal) as he sat cross-legged on the bed. "Aizen-taichou is a pretty interesting guy," he said. "He's strong."

Rangiku finished washing up, put on her clean clothes on, and sat down next to Gin. "So when am I going to get to go to the Academy?" she asked, putting her arm around him.

Instead of answering, he pulled out a red and white uniform and a letter and threw them to her. She ripped open the letter and read it. He'd taught her to read, but she wasn't very good at it. "'We are...pleased to inform you that you have been...ac...acce...'" she read aloud slowly.

"Accepted," Gin said.

"Shut up, I can read it," she said, punching him lightly in the arm. "'...accepted to the Shino Acad...Academy.'" She looked up at him, smiling hugely. "How did you do this? I never saw an inspector or a recruiter or anything!"

"Ya can also be recruited by any seated officer," he said smugly.

"When do I start?" she said excitedly. Yeah, it was going to be hard work, but she'd be able to see Gin much more often. And besides, shinigami got paid well.

"Not till April," he said.

"Eh? So long!" she whined. "Oh, well. Maybe when I graduate, I can be in your division, Gin. I'll make sure you behave." She poked him in the ribs teasingly.

"Nah, not Fifth Division," he said almost instantly.

She looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Why wouldn't he want her in his squad? "Aizen-taichou have wandering hands, or something?" she asked. Gods knew, she'd had to fend off advances before, but a captain might be a problem.

"Not exactly," Gin said, the look she called his 'hiding something smile' firmly on his face. "You'd be too distracting, Rangiku-chan."

She stuck out her tongue instead of answering. She knew he was lying, but she also knew he'd never tell her a secret he wanted to keep. "Anyway," he continued. "I got some money now. Figured you'd like ta go shopping."

Anything else he might have said was drowned out by a delighted squeal and by her pulling him into her (already not inconsiderable) breasts as she gave him a massive hug. "Can we go to that cute little clothing shop with the pink kimono in the window that I always wanted? And some dried persimmons, and something hot to eat and drink..."

"Course we can, Ran," Gin said, heading to the door and putting on her shoes. Rangiku continued to chatter excitedly as they headed out of the hut and into town. Gin seemed a little preoccupied, but she didn't mind filling up the silence. It had been so long since she last saw him, but that was all right. Starting in April, they could be together. And whatever secrets he was keeping, it didn't matter, as long as they could be together.


End file.
